Sam Ryder plays surprise gigs at shopping centres

Sam Ryder has been playing surprise gigs at shopping centres in a bid to push his Christmas single to number one in the charts.

The Eurovision star treated excited shoppers to live shows at the Westgate in Oxford and outside The Oracle in Reading.

His festive song You're Christmas To Me is climbing the official charts, but is up against Wham's Last Christmas.

He described it to the watching crowds as a "chart battle for the ages".

His team handed out leaflets with QR codes with which to download the single, which he wrote for an Amazon Prime film.

It has been released exclusively through Amazon Music, and is not available on Spotify or Apple.

According to the Official Charts, at one point only 42 units separated the Wham classic and Ryder's new seasonal offering.

The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl are also in the picture, with a vinyl charity release of Fairytale of New York in tribute to the late Shane MacGowan.

'Over the moon'

"We find ourselves in a very unprecedented situation where we are in a chart battle with Wham," Ryder told onlookers in Reading.

"Help us get that Number One spot and do something totally and utterly unprecedented."

Brendan Hattam, centre director at the Westgate Oxford, said locals "were over the moon to watch him perform in their own local shopping centre, and it certainly spread some festive cheer throughout the city".

He added: "We wish Sam the best of luck in his efforts to reach Number One for Christmas, and we'd love to have him back to busk in-centre anytime."

Ryder's 20 minute sets included songs such as Run Rudolph Run, and Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours, as well as his Christmas tune.

The singer-songwriter was at one point the most viewed UK artist on TikTok, and he came second in Eurovision in 2022, the UK's best result since 1998.

He subsequently released a number one album, before splitting from label Parlophone Records in September after completing a one-album deal.

The Christmas number one will be announced on BBC Radio 1 from 16:00 GMT on Friday.

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